In addition to the ingredients that are indispensable for the washing process, such as surfactants and builder materials, detergents generally also contain further constituents, which can be summarized under the term washing auxiliaries and which comprise active ingredient groups as diverse as those such as foam regulators, anti-graying agents, bleaching agents, bleach activators, and dye transfer inhibitors. Auxiliaries of this type also include substances of which the presence improves the detergent power of surfactants without themselves generally having to demonstrate a significant surfactant behavior. The same is also true, analogously, for cleaning products for hard surfaces. Substances of this type are often referred to as detergent power boosters or as fat boosters on account of their particularly pronounced effect with respect to oil- or grease-based soiling.
Detergents or rinsing agents which in addition to surfactant also contain copolymers formed of anionic and cationic monomers and optionally additionally non-ionic monomers are known from international patent application WO 0157171 A1.
The color- and shape-retaining effect of cationically charged polymers when washing textiles is known from international patent application WO 0056849 A1.
The soil-release effect of block copolymers formed of ethylenically unsaturated monomers and alkylene oxides, alkylene glycols or cyclic ethers is known from international patent application WO 03054044 A2.
International patent application WO 03066791 A1 describes, on substrate surfaces, associated polymers consisting to an extent of at least 1 mol % of amide group-containing monomers.
Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with this background of the invention.